Gerald Durrell...."my Family And Other Animals"

[mikey4444]

I have just started this and am enjoying in immensely ! Its been up on my bookshelf for years and I must have forgotten about it. Has anybody else read it ?

Also what about his brothers books ?

The "Alexandria Quartet" looks interesting !

[vetuste_ennemi]

The two Durrells quite different beasts. Didn't see the recent TV series on their early life in Corfu, then, Mikey?
Haven't read the quartet, but some oldies like me will have seen the film version of Justine (late 60s, early 70s?) starring the toothsome if undernourished Anouk Aimée.

[Toorak]

I loved it - it had me laughing out loud in places. I haven't read the Alexandria quartet - now that you mention it I might give it a go....

[woofgang]

The Gerald Durrell books are all good....funny, interesting and now of course describing lost societies and environments. I tried Laurence Durrell’s work but wasn’t so keen.

[hc4361]

I have read all of Gerald Durrell's books, some more than once. Thoroughly enjoyable

[mikey4444]

Thanks....I have ordered the second Corfu book from Ebay ( my favourite second-hand bookseller ! )

I have done some research on the Alexandria Quartet but its not looking promising. I might try the Library, rather than fork out for the book itself.

[Khandro]

Bitter lemons you might like mikey, I read it again a few years back it's set against the political unrest in Cyprus in the 50s
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Lemons-Cyprus-Lawrence-Durrell-x/dp/0571201555

[mikey4444]

A belated thanks to you as well K.

[vetuste_ennemi]

// I might try the Library, rather than fork out for the book itself.//

Some of us have got the Kindle app on our tablets etc. and download the free sample (about twenty pages?) of the e-version from Amazon.

[mikey4444]

VE....I haven't got a Kindle. I borrowed one 2 years ago, for a couple of weeks but couldn't get on with it I'm afraid.

Another problem is that I boycott Amazon ! ( don't ask ! )

[vetuste_ennemi]

I'm an Amazon user, also a carnivore, but with a bit of a guilty conscience in both cases, Mikey.

You don't need a Kindle, any device will do. You get an app for Android, Windows etc.

[jourdain2]

Not only have I read it (more than once) mikey, but I have also taught it at G.C.S.E. level (Durrell was surprised and flattered that it made the list). It's a wonderful book and led to glorious creative writing from my class. I've also read most of his other books - mainly to do with his work with animals and zoos - with pleasure. 'Alexandria Quartets' etc. (Laurence D.) are a very different kettle of fish and currently unfashionable, but I would say that they are worth reading (few books aren't!) just don't look for the laughs.

[Buenchico]

^^^ GCSE?

They must be dumbing English courses down if Year 10/11 students are studying it. We did it in (what's now called) Year 8 when I was at school ;-)

[jourdain2]

Buenchico - because we were the only school in 5 years which borrowed 'Great Expectations' from the L.A. resource centre (Bradford) - they gave the entire set to us! Used it with the same pupils - so they did get difficult language and complex plot lines.

You really wouldn't believe how 'dumbed down' English has become. I was a KS3 Examiner for a while 20 yrs ago now - left because I was appalled at the standard. 'Basic soundness in spelling' was 1 criterion and I was hugely
criticised because I would not give on the fact that a 13 year-old who confused 'their' with 'there' (amongst other things) could not be described as 'basically sound'. We were all constantly being asked to revise our C/D grade boundary papers (e.g. shift a D+ up to a C-). Those who refused were not popular.

'My Family....' is actually very well written and I had no problem with teaching it on literary grounds. I agree that other texts should be conjoined, but G.C.S.E. is not (and never can be) G.C.E..

[mikey4444]

I can remember reading the following in school, in the early to mid 1960's, when I was in my teens :::::

"Kon Tiki"

"The Searchers"

"Day of the Triffids" ( my favourite )

I am not sure if that is dumbing up or down, but I enjoyed those books a hell of a lot. I think its important to get kids reading anything, especially boys, who were known to be difficult to get into the reading habit.

I can recall that when I was about 7-8 being given Charles Kingsley's "The Water Babies" and being bored out of my mind. The Aunt who gave me this to read kept asking me questions about and I had to lie to please her !

During my childhood, I must have read every book that Enid Blyton ever wrote, and it didn't do me any harm whatsoever, despite her being on every progressive teachers hate list for many years.

Another firm favourite was all the "Lone Pine" Series, by Malcolm Savile, and the Narnia books, of course !

Long live books !

[Khandro]

jourdain; Would not having a 'Basic soundness in spelling' consign a pupil to an overall low mark for an otherwise good essay?
In other words, how would you mark an excellent essay which was badly spelt?

[ChillDoubt]

I read it for English 'O' level, way back when, along with the Merchant of Venice and The Importance of being Earnest.

[Cloverjo]

I remember my sister studying The Day of the Triffids in primary school. This was back in the 70s.

[mikey4444]

Jo....give it a go, as well as "The Chrysalids" ....ruddy marvellous reading !

[ChillDoubt]

Young Chill read Of Mice and Men and To Kill A Mockingbird for his, currently reading Frankenstein and The Road for his A level.

[jourdain2]

Khandro, I'm not talking about the brilliant essay (these shine through and often are written in such haste that spelling is secondary and overlooked) dyslexics are often, wrongly, marked down. I'm talking about the average/slightly below average essay where spelling is the additional weak point.